The city of Charlotte’s police homicide detectives made their television debut Thursday night, Nov 11, 2010 on A&E’s reality show The First 48, and are featured on several episodes during the 2010-11 season. The show follows homicide detectives in cities across the country during the first 48 hours after a murder is reported.

Cases start to get cold (and therefore harder to solve) if a suspect is not apprehended within this critical time frame. According to the show’s website, it gives viewers “unprecedented access to crime scenes, interrogations and forensic processing.” In March 2010, crews began filming in Charlotte for future episodes.

The First 48 Episodes Featuring Charlotte (Original Air Dates)

2/10/2011 Episode: ‘Dying Declaration / One Last Score’ – In Charlotte, Det. Todd Burkard and his team find a man stabbed to death in his car. The case kicks into high gear when the team gets a tip that a white car was spotted fleeing the crime scene, driven by a man covered in blood. Meanwhile in Louisville, Det. Kristen Downs is at a dead end in her search for the killer of a wheelchair bound man, until she discovers the victim’s sons might be the key to the case. View Episode Here

2/3/2011 Episode: ‘Final Call/Fatal Fury’ – In Charlotte, rookie homicide Det. Brian Whitworth is assigned his first case when a woman is discovered on her bedroom floor, stabbed to death. Hampered by false leads and a lack of eyewitnesses, Whitworth must rely on the physical evidence to bring the killer to justice. Meanwhile, in Louisville, Det. Jon Lesher investigates the homicide of a 43-year-old father, gunned down in front of his house for telling a rowdy group of men next door to quiet down.View Episode Here

1/27/2011 Episode: ‘Terribly Wrong/Setting the Score’ – In Charlotte, when a store clerk and father of three young children is shot in a robbery by a masked man, lead Detective David Osorio and his team interview witnesses and find that no one knows the shooter. With little to go on, Osorio must find a way to identify his suspect before he can hope to track him down. View More Info Here

1/6/2011 Episode: ‘Insider / Paradise Lost / Bad Debt’ – In Charlotte, rookie Detective Norma McKee gets her first double-murder: a young couple shot in their car by a backseat passenger. Inside the vehicle, detectives find what may be a vital clue, a baseball hat that might contain the suspect’s DNA. Meanwhile in Miami, seasoned detective Emiliano Tamayo has two cases in two days. View Episode Here

12/2/2010 Episode: ‘Left to Burn / Trigger Happy’ – In Detroit, Sergeant Kenny Gardner and Investigator Barbara Simon must investigate the brutal murder of a 63-year-old woman stabbed and bound. And In Charlotte, Detectives are called out to a restaurant where a 20-year-old father was shot dead. View Episode Here

11/18/2010 Episode: ‘What Lies Beneath; Back for Blood’ – A Birmingham man is found shot to death in his basement; and Charlotte detectives investigate the murder of a man who was shot behind his girlfriend’s house. View Episode Here

11/11/2010 Episode: ‘Gimme Shelter; Misstep’ – A body is found buried in a basement, and the person who tipped the detectives could be the killer; and a father of three is stabbed to death in Charlotte. View Episode Here

“I think what it’s going to show is the dedication and work that goes into our homicide investigations,” Capt. Ron Golding said when asked what viewers could expect. “People are going to see the unique sense of urgency that we bring and the magnitude of the resources we bring.” “We’re working very hard to bring closure to victims’ families and also to reduce fear in the community when these crimes occur,” Golding said.

New episodes of The First 48 air on Thursdays @ 9pm on A&E and repeat throughout the week. Time Warner Cable channel 36; DirecTV channel 265.www.aetv.com